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About Cindy Spotts

I am a Culturepreneur and a Visual Journalist. I am a creative talent with a passion for human factors and creating one-of-a kind experiences. I am diverse—skilled in multiple creative and strategic disciplines. One of my specialties is researching and synthesizing cultural intelligence with the ability to translate behaviors into a unique brand strategy or creative vision.

While on a Dwell Modernist Tour I discovered a creative independent block of Echo Park and on a recent trip back I fell in love with Cookbook, a little community grocer that is so much more. I found an online article on Kinfolk Magazine with an interview written by Jessica Comingore who captures the essence of this delicious shop and does the shop more justice than I could. I included only the first paragraph, but if you click on the link below you can read the full post, or better yet visit Cookbook LA—you will not be disappointed.

“Marta Teegan and Robert Stelzner are the owners of Cookbook LA, an artisan market in the heart of Echo Park. With a background in art history and a passion for food, the two open their doors seven days a week to give locals access to a carefully curated selection of produce and responsibly-made food. True to their name, they also whip up an assortment of freshly prepared dishes, pulling recipes from a different cookbook each week.”

When I started “LA Seen” I swore I would never create a style blog, and yet here I am after the first entry writing about an amazingly talented lingerie designer. Jennifer Standley is an independent designer who has done it all on her own and after two years of selling one of a kind pieces on Etsy she is ready to launch her own line in independent shops across Los Angeles. Jennifer’s style is the quintessential independent design look that will define LA fashion in the coming years. Her line is vintage inspired and elegantly executed. There is a charming sensibility (boyishly charming) yet flirty and very feminine. Her pieces are naturally sexy and effortlessly playful. Woman of any age will want to lounge around their homes all day without wanting to get fully dressed, or throw on something sheer to show off.

Los Angeles will play an important role in the indi-capitalist movement and designers like Jennifer will take center stage. In the end, I guess this is not really a style piece, but an inspired success story for those who have always wanted to follow their dreams.

Take a moment and think about your typical gas station experience. Most of us wait until our tank is empty and begrudgingly find the nearest station. We pull up to a dirty pump, we watch a little TV, and we make a speedy exit. We panic if we actually have to enter the convenience store.

Architect Kevin Oreck’s design of United Oil’s Chevron Station is worth driving that extra mile to experience. Kevin’s design solutions are elegant, inviting, nature-driven and sustainable. While pumping gas look up; the canopy was created using black photovoltaic solar panels sandwiched between layers of glass. The effect is much like dappled sunlight filtered through a tree. When it’s time to pay walk towards the folded plates of cascading glass that end in a river-like fountain of recycled water. Entering the store is like walking through a waterfall where lights from the fountain project a reflective pattern on the glass. Above, energy efficient glass tube lights hang down from the ceiling providing soft illumination mimicking the effect of falling drops of water. Below, modern custom-designed shelving units wrap around built-in planters.

Surrounding the store is Landscape Architect Jamie Schwentker’s lush drought resistant landscaping, making the station even more environmentally friendly. The subtle beauty of the station was not compromised by over whelming branding. It was a challenge for the architect to convince Chevron, but congratulations to all for the use of a graphically simple and subtly beautiful use of the identifiable blue and red chevron painted on glass and placed between the pumps.